Galveston’s historic Strand receives national attention

Costumers walk the parade route Saturday, December 1, 2012 during the annual Dickens on The Strand celebration in Galveston, Texas. (Todd Spoth for the Chronicle)

Selected for its Victorian architecture, revitalization efforts and resilience after natural disasters, The Strand in Galveston has been named one of 10 “Great Streets” according to the American Planning Association.

Each year, the association’s Great Places in America program chooses 30 streets, neighborhoods and public spaces to highlight the importance of planning and planners when it comes to adding value to communities. Read Chronicle report Harvey Rice’s story on the designation here.

“The Strand is a magnificent street that has seen more than its share of destructive storms and disasters, most recently Hurricane Ike in 2008,” the association’s CEO Paul Farmer, said in a statement. “Yet Galveston’s community leaders and residents remain steadfast in their resolve to repair and rebuild, and nothing demonstrates this better than The Strand’s renewed vibrancy and prosperity.”

The planners describe The Strand’s 19th century moniker as “the Wall Street of the Southwest:”

The Strand was the desired location for major businesses at the time including banks, wholesalers, commercial merchants, cotton brokers, newspapers and attorneys.

They erected exquisite examples of Victorian architecture, which today represent one of the country’s largest collections of cast iron historic commercial buildings thanks to decades of planning and restoration efforts by led the city, Galveston Historical Foundation, and philanthropist George Mitchell, who died in July, and his wife Cynthia, who passed away in 2009.